P   S 

1939 

H6 

D6 

1890 

MAIN 


LIB  R  ARY 

OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

OK 


Received 
Accessions  i 


Shelf  No. 


^ 


D 


ISCOVERY  OF  /AMERICA 


A 


WARREN    HOLDEN. 


PHILADE  LPHIA  : 

PRESS  OF  J.   B.   LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY, 
i  890. 


Copyright,  1890,  by  WARREN  HOLDEN. 


SjjS^ 

THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 


IN  every  tongue  the  school-boy  reads  the  tale, 
How,  free  from  doubt,  "  The  Admiral"  set  sail 
Upon  the  unknown,  boundless  "  Ocean  Sea," 
Where  never  viking  ventured  wittingly. 
Not  Jason  searching  for  the  golden  fleece, 
Nor  wise  Ulysses  wandering  far  from  Greece, 
Nor  famed  ^Lneas  wrecked  on  Libyan  shore, 
Conceived  the  terrors  Ocean  had  in  store. 
Wide-weltering  waters, — land  long  lost  to  view, — 
No  friendly  shore  to  save  a  struggling  crew 
When  yawning  waves  engulf  their  fragile  bark ; 
The  flood  sweeps  over  them  and  leaves  no  mark. 

3 


After  long,  weary  years  of  hope  delayed, 

By  king  and  courtier  craftily  betrayed, — 

Oft-answered  arguments  compelled  to  meet, 

Which  ignorance  and  prejudice  repeat 

With  grave  persistence :    If  the  world  were   round, 

How  could  antipodes  maintain  their  ground? — 

A  wandering  mendicant  from  court  to  court, 

Of  pity,  scorn,  and  ridicule  the  sport, 

At  last  he  speeds.     Castile's  illustrious  queen, 

Inspired  by  Heaven  with  faith  in  things  unseen, 

Pledges  her  jewels  for  an  unborn  age, 

And  history  turns  her  most  eventful  page. 

Alone  amid  the  treacherous  ocean  tides, 

Confronting  mutiny,  alone  he  bides 

The  symbol  of  indomitable  will. 

What  urgent  purpose  has  he  to  fulfil  ? 

What  motive  can  sustain  such  steadfast  mood, 

The  crucial  test  of  human  fortitude? 


Is  it  ambition  for  a  deathless  name, 

The  generous  infirmity  of  fame? 

Or  is  it  the  ignoble  thirst  for  gold, 

The  soul's  birthright  to  sordid  mammon  sold  ? 

Or  seeks  he  to  advance  the  holy  cross, 

And  rescue  heathen  from  eternal  loss  ? 

Who  can  adjust  the  claims  upon  his  heart, 

To  God,  to  man,  to  self,  their  proper  part? 

Letters  he  bore  to  Tartary's  Grand  Khan, 

Commissioned  to  unfold  salvation's  plan; 

And,  reaching  India  by  the  shortest  way, 

How  easy  to  bring  riches  from  Cathay ! 

What  holy  vows  may  with  such  wealth  be  paid ! 

May  not  the  king  equip  a  new  crusade, 

And  rescue  from  the  hand  of  infidel 

The  sepulchre  where  Christian  memories  dwell? 

Though  surface  motives  seem  to  shape  men's  course, 
They  feel  the  under-current's  silent  force; 


And,  spite  of  choice,  there  is  a  special  role 
That  each  must  fill  to  harmonize  the  whole. 
Columbus  was  the  unconscious  hand  of  fate, 
Predestined  to  unlock  the  golden  gate 
Of  this  wide,  hospitable  hemisphere, 
The  future  home  of  all  that  is  most  dear 
To  human  hope  beset  by  tyranny, — 
The  rights  of  conscience  and  of  industry. 

Search   history  throughout.     You  scarce  shall  find 

A  firmer  heart,  a  more  self-centred  mind ; 

Nor  may  you  think  earth's  common  motives  can 

Evolve  and  discipline  this  type  of  man. 

When  nature  undertakes  a  grand  assay, 

She  deftly  mingles  with  our  common  clay 

Some  rare  ingredient  from  a  higher  sphere, 

To  temper  well  her  chosen  pioneer. 

Calm,  many-sided,  self-reliant  soul, 

When  first  the  needle  varied  from  the  pole 

6 


And  filled  the  boldest  pilots  with  affright, 
His  fertile  genius  proved  the  compass  right 
As  each  new  danger  threatened  to  devour, 
He  quelled  the  monster  with  a  quiet  power. 
Ominous  signs  that  wakened  natural  fear 
To  his  quick  sense  revealed  new  cause  of  cheer. 

In  vain  the  anxious  seamen  looked  for  land : 

A  waste  of  waters  spread  on  every  hand. 

The  loneliness  of  the  deserted  sea, 

With  only  silent  stars  for  company, 

Oppressed  their  homesick  souls  with  strange  dismay, 

And  made  them  melancholy's  helpless  prey. 

At  such  a  time  how  towered  that  master-mind 
Above  the  common  weakness  of  mankind ! 
Even  as  a  mother  soothes  her  children's  fears 
With  tender  voice,  and  gently  dries  their  tears, 
He  stoops  from  lofty  contemplation's  height 
With  cheering  words  to  chase  away  their  fright. 

7 


"  Land  !    land !"    in  eager  haste  a  sailor  cries ; 
"  Land !  land  !"  with  one  glad  voice  the  crew  replies. 
From  depths  of  woe  to  heights  of  joy  they  spring, 
And  by-gone  dangers  to  the  winds  they  fling. 

What  splendid  verdure  bursts  upon  the  sight, 
Where  flowers  and  blossoms  lend  contrasting  light, 
While  birds  of  brilliant  plumage  gayly  throng, 
Their  various  colors  matched  by  varied  song. 
Hesperian  gardens  hitherward  have  strayed : 
Luxuriant  foliage  offers  cooling  shade, 
Sweet  odors  float  upon  the  balmy  air, 
And  bending  boughs  hold  out  their  fruitage  fair. 

The  natives,  clad  in  innocence,  appear 
In  naked  beauty,  without  shame  or  fear. 
With  awe  and  simple  wonder  prepossessed, 
The  islander  receives  his  heavenly  guest, 
And  shares  his  little  store  with  open  hand. 
Too  soon  the  illusion  fades.     They  understand 

8 


Their  sad  mistake  when  avarice  betrays 

Its  ugly  features  to  their  startled  gaze. 

The  song  and  dance,  that  wont  to  while  away 

The  idle  hours  of  each  returning  day, 

Have  ceased,  and  to  their  joy  succeeds  the  gloom 

Of  cruel  slavery's  soul-repressing  doom. 

Blood-hound  and  arquebuse  have  done  their  work, 

And  Christian  masters  rival  the  fell  Turk. 

With  spirits  crushed  by  fortune's  cruel  stroke, 

The  gentle  race  bows  'neath  the  galling  yoke. 

All  day  they  stoop  along  the  river's  strand, 

Sifting,  with  ceaseless  toil,  the  gold-specked  sand. 

And  each  must  bring  full  dole  of  the  vile  dust 

To  sate  extortion's  all-devouring  lust. 

Another  Eden  angels  there  bewail 

Where  self,  the  serpent,  left  his  blighting  trail. 

Columbus  needs  must  work  with  human  tools ; 
And  wisest  plans  are  marred  by  knaves  and  fools. 


His  high  ideal  like  a  beacon  shone, 
A  constant  light  that  led  him  ever  on ; 
While  oft  his  crew's  low-thoughted  lust  of  gain 
Fettered  his  will  and  made  all  effort  vain. 

Pass  quickly  by  the  sickening,  sordid  strife 
For  wealth  at  sacrifice  of  human  life; 
For  doubtful  honor  much  too  dearly  bought 
Where  cunning  power  with  honest  merit  fought. 
Let  petty  worldlings  scramble  for  the  spoils ; 
True  worth  and  honor  shun  their  vulgar  broils. 

Columbus  struggles  bravely  with  his  fate. 
Envy  and  craft  and  greed  and  secret  hate 
Obstruct  his  path  with  well-contrived  delay ; 
On  mind  and  body  care  and  sickness  prey. 
Yet  on  he  presses.     No  malign  portent 
Has  power  to  make  his  constant  heart  relent. 
At  last  ingratitude  rewards  his  pains : 
The  hero  languishes  in  felon's  chains. 

10 


Unequal  contest,  where  bare  merit  vied 

With  titles  and  hereditary  pride. 

t 

When  nature's  workman  has  performed  his  task, 
She  bids  him  stand  aside,  nor  questions  ask 
Of  honors  and  rewards  he  may  deserve. 
Enough  reward  and  honor  but  to  serve. 
For  due  approval  wait  a  thousand  years ; 
A  race  redeemed  shall  settle  all  arrears. 

God's  conscript  in  the  holy  war  of  man, 
Columbus  served  for  life  and  led  the  van. 
His  faults  were  unripe  virtues  of  the  time ; 
His  virtues  the  rare  growth  of  faith  sublime. 

Mere  cowards  may  conceive  a  bold  design, 
The  glorious  deed  to  others  they  assign. 
His  courage  marched  beside  his  daring  thought. 
He  faced  the  danger  as  a  leader  ought. 


ii 


Like  Bunyan's  grovelling  "  man  with  the  muck-rake," 
The  many  delve  for  filthy  lucre's  sake. 
Columbus,  faithful  to  his  leading  star, 
Pursues  a  fixed  ideal  near  and  far. 

Well  done,  thou  good  and  faithful  servant.     Right 
Thy  bark  was   steered  by  heaven's  directing  light, 
And  thou  hast  gained  the  haven  of  the  blest, 
A  better  land  than  lured  thy  life-long  quest. 

What  he  achieved,  Columbus  never  knew  : 
His  grand  discovery  was  veiled  from  view. 
From  Pisgah  Moses  saw  the  promised  land, 
Whereon  his  eager  feet  might  never  stand. 
Columbus  trod  New  Canaan's  holy  ground, 
But  his  eyes  saw  not  what  his  feet  had  found. 
Another  world  had  risen  from  the  deep, 
Long-lost  Atlantis  haply  roused  from  sleep. 
The  early  "cradle  of  the  human  race," 
The  nurse  of  heroes,  fills  her  former  place. 

12 


Old  prophecies,  that  fed  the  world's  young  hope, 
Have  found  their  time  and  place  with  ample  scope. 
The  prayers  of  saints  and  visions  of  the  wise 
Are  brought  to  pass  before  our  wondering  eyes. 

But  the  soul's  heritage  is  left  unseized 
Until  the  coarser  cravings  are  appeased. 
The  first  great  harvest  of  corrupting  gold 

Is  reaped  ere  men  are  willing  to  be  told 

• 
Of  richer  mines  abounding  in  the  soil, 

Ready  to  yield  their  wealth  to  moderate  toil. 
Here  breadth  of  empire,  stretched  from  east  to  west, 
Has  taxed  invention  with  severest  test. 
Machines  endowed  with  more  than  manual  skill 
Redouble  products  at  their  maker's  will. 
Engines,  performing  labor's  heavier  part, 
Release  men's  hands  for  works  of  finer  art. 
By  railroad,  telegraph,  and  telephone 
The  bounds  of  time  and  space  are  overflown. 


In  floating  palaces  of  fairy  stamp, 

The  seeming  products  of  Aladdin's  lamp, 

We're  ferried  o'er  the  boisterous  ocean  stream 

Amid  the  luxuries  of  an  Eastern  dream. 

The  lightning's  flash,  startling  with  sudden  glare, 

Like  eyes  of  angry  beast  roused  from  his  lair, 

Is  trained  to  humble  service  of  the  night, 

And  shines  with  steady  beam  of  useful  light. 

But  physical  inventions  fail  alone 
To  satisfy  the  mind  capacious  grown. 
Lightning  and  steam,  reduced  to  servitude, 
Are  outward  signs  of  inward  force  subdued. 
Let  pure  invention  tax  its  skill  to  find 
Machinery  to  move  the  common  mind  ; 
Levers  to  raise  it  to  the  plane  of  thought 
Where  metaphysic  theories  are  wrought. 
The  invisible  is  but  a  veil.     Behind 
Is  hid  the  laboratory  of  the  mind. 


Shut  every  door  of  sense,  and  far  within 

The  soul's  profound  realities  begin. 

Worlds  upon  worlds  to  conquer  loom  up  here. 

Ambition  may  pursue  a  wide  career, 

With  room  for  all,  without  their  neighbors'  leave 

What  they  may  dare  to  think  and  what  achieve. 

Unawed  by  hoar  tradition's  senile  nod, 

The  coming  man  shall  bow  to  none  but  God. 

Columbia,  freedom's  chosen  battle-ground, 
Thy  countless  hills  and  endless  shores  resound 
With  clash  and  clang  of  intellectual  swords, 
Where  champions  claim  the  prize  that  truth  awards. 
Nor  may  they  quit  the  thorough-foughten  field 
Till  every  form  of  slavery  shall  yield 
To  true  religion,  pure  and  undefiled, 
Whose  precepts  may  be  followed  by  a  child. 
Its  first  command:   Love  God  with  all  thy  mind; 
The  second  like  it:    Love  all  humankind. 


These  two  commandments  are  the  deep  tap-roots 
Whence  laws  of  mercy  are  the  native  fruits. 
King-craft  and  priest-craft,  tyranny-born  twins, 
The  scourges  of  the  old  world's  in-bred  sins, 
Have  here  no  biding-place.     All  shall  be  new ; 
And  false  pretence  collapse  at  touch  of  true. 
Evil,  the  cobra,  lowers  his  threatening  hood 
Before  the  childlike  innocence  of  good. 

Prolonged  and  weary  shall  the  struggle  be 
Twixt  world-wide  tolerance  and  bigotry; 
'Twixt  greedy  selfishness  with  grasping  hand 
And  equity  that  meets  each  fair  demand ; 
Twixt  party  politics,  a  wily  game, 
And  statesmanship  with  philanthropic  aim. 
Accept  fixed  fate's  inflexible  decree : 
Man  must  obey  in  order  to  be  free; 
Man  must  be  just  before  he  can  enjoy 
The  cup  of  life  and  find  there  no  alloy. 


16 


Let  each  man  own  himself,  act,  word,  and  thought; 

Let  neither  faith  nor  vote  be  sold  nor  bought, 

Nor  envy  wealth  its  vantage  insecure. 

True  wealth  consists  in  things  that  must  endure; 

Things  that  all  men  alike  may  freely  share, 

Neither  exclusive,  perishing,  nor  rare  ; 

Things  that  no  friend  may  give  nor  foe  may  take, 

And  only  man's  unbiased  choice  can  make. 

This  full  contentment  love  alone  can  give  : 

The  more  men  love  so  much  the  more  they  live. 

This  is  that  unbought  treasure  of  the  heart 

Which  men  take  with  them  when  they  hence  depart, — 

Each  pure  affection, — pledge  of  human  trust, 

The  mere  intention  to  be  kind  and  just, 

The  generous  word,  the  sympathetic  look ; 

All,  all  are  written  in  life's  record  book. 

Nothing  is  lost.     A  man's  immortal  part 

Is  fashioned  day  by  day  within  his  heart. 


Diogenes  asked  for  unobstructed  sun  : 

'Twas  more  than  Alexander's  victories  won. 

'Tis  the  soul's  right  to  follow  its  true  bent ; 

And  meddling  patrons  may  no  more  prevent ; 

And  free  America's  the  chosen  spot 

To  realize,  though  late,  the  happy  lot. 

The  final  struggle  of  man's  destiny 

In  this  new  world  shall  leave  him  ever  free. 

The  charter  of  his  sacred  rights  declares 

All  men,  alike,  are  born  coequal  heirs 

To  life  and  liberty  and  happiness, 

And  bids  each  one  the  heritage  possess. 

The  arrogance  of  an  exclusive  few, 

Appropriating  empire  as  their  due, 

Whether  usurped  by  the  strong  hand  of  might, 

Or  held  by  custom's  old  prescriptive  right, 

On  freedom's  soil  is  openly  defied. 

The  boasted  privilege  of  titled  pride 

May  still  amuse  the  old  world's  chivalry 

With  childish  toys  of  outworn  heraldry ; 

18 


But  simple  manhood  is  the  motto  now, 

Its  coat  of  arms  an  open,  honest  brow. 

Old  despots  claimed  to  rule  by  right  divine, 

And  jealously  established  their  own  line. 

Now  universal  suffrage  makes  its  choice : 

God's  will  is  echoed  by  the  people's  voice. 

Lest  bungling  ignorance,  with  a  two-edged  vote, 

Should  cut  its  own  or  else  its  neighbor's  throat, 

The  youth  are  'prenticed  to  the  guardian  state, 

As  natural  wards,  to  train  and  educate ; 

To  teach  capacity  its  proper  use, 

And  rescue  new-born  talent  from  abuse. 

Mere  license  wishes  to  be  let  alone. 

True  liberty  will  ever  frankly  own 

A  brother's  claims,  and  leave  to  murderous  Cain 

The  independence  selfishness  may  gain. 

No  hope  too  promising  for  love's  elect. 

What  prophecy  hath  taught  us  to  expect 

Of  mind's  full  growth,  or  soul's  increasing  worth, 

May  now  take  actual  form  in  outward  birth. 

19 


What  dreams  have  pictured  of  love's  halcyon  days 

May  live  again  in  noontide's  open  blaze. 

The  waste  and  want  of  riotous  excess 

By  sober  thrift  is  turned  to  plenteousness. 

Science  shall  teach  the  economic  way, 

And  docile  duty  hasten  to  obey. 

In  non-essentials  men  may  disagree, 

Yet  leave  each  other  wholly  conscience-free. 

But  freedom's  altar  fires  alight  once  more, 
Bursting  confinement,  leap  from  shore  to  shore ; 
Like  prairie  fires,  when  started,  sure  to  spread 
Till  they  consume  the  stubble  dry  and  dead, — 
The  stubble  of  effete  society, 
Which  cumbers  many  a  land  that  shall  be  free. 

Are  kings  so  blinded  ?    Will  they  not  provide 
For  human  nature's  slowly  rising  tide, 
Till  anarchy  and  kindred  broods  transform 
Mild  elements  into  a  maddened  storm 

20 


Whose  irresistible  assault  shall  sweep 

Sceptres  and  thrones  upon  time's  rubbish  heap  ? 

Infinite  power,  that  stillest  the  vain  noise 
Alike  of  sea  and  people  out  of  poise, 
Oh,  make  the  puny  wrath  of  man  to  cease, 
And  give  the  much-enduring  nations  peace ! 

Loitering  beneath  the  old  paternal  roof, 
Against  new  notions  man  grows  habit-proof; 
Lives  as  his  fathers  lived,  and  dies  the  same, 
His  chief  distinction  a  proud  family  name. 
Break  custom's  chain,  escape  her  tangling  mesh ; 
Explore  new  fields  where  all  is  young  and  fresh. 
New  life  without  awakes  new  life  within, 
And  latent  powers  their  office  now  begin. 

Hereditary  right  and  privilege 

Protect  the  few  with  an  impervious  hedge. 


The  mass  by  narrow  circumstance  are  bound 
To  trudge  a  treadmill's  unprogressive  round 
Of  sordid  drudgery  for  starveling  hire. 
What  faintest  hope  bids  such  a  soul  aspire? 
If  rumor  reach  him  of  this  "no  man's  land," 
At  every  hazard  let  him  seek  its  strand. 
Come  one,  come  all,  of  high  or  low  degree; 
Your  only  passport,  fitness  to  be  free. 

Scarce  three-score  years,  less  than  the  shortest  span 

Allotted  to  a  rounded  life  of  man, 

Since  the  brave  Pottawatomie  possessed 

The  hunting-grounds  spread  o'er  the  great  Northwest. 

A  phantom  city,  looming  from  the  lake, 

The  place  of  lowly  wigwams  seems  to  take. 

The  fleets  of  commerce  crowd  Chicago's  strand, 

Where  frail  canoes  reposed  upon  the  sand. 

A  million  freemen  here  have  built  a  home 

Where  nomad  Indians  erewhile  used  to  roam. 


22 


Is  it  the  mere  mirage  of  heated  brain 

Casting  its  fair  illusions  o'er  the  plain  ? 

As  if  to  prove  the  dream's  reality, 

With  an  unbounded  hospitality, 

They  bid  the  world  attend  a  mighty  fair, 

And  bring  their  choicest  products  to  compare ; 

And  see  what  youthful  Samson  can  produce 

With  locks  unshorn  and  limbs  from  shackles  loose. 

Columbus,  couldst  thou  join  this  glorious  fete, 

Where  all  the  nations  meet  to  celebrate 

The  harvest  sprung  from  the  prolific  seed 

Sown  for  mankind  by  thy  heroic  deed, 

How  would  thy  soul  be  satisfied  with  peace 

And  thanks  to  God  who  giveth  such  increase ! 

This  is  no  El  Dorado's  puerile  dream, 

Where  gold  and  gems  with  dazzling  splendor  gleam 

'Mid  gorgeous  scenes  of  idle  luxury, 

That  lured  thy  gross  companions  o'er  the  sea : 


This  is  the  palace  of  Industrial  Art. 
Here  many  an  honest  hand  hath  borne  a  part, 
Less  skilful  to  consume  than  to  produce, 
While  every  product  serves  a  human  use. 
The  hand  of  skill,  by  modern  science  taught, 
More  marvels  in  machinery  hath  wrought 
Than  wonder-working  Vulcan  could  conceive, 
Or  magic-mongers  make  their  dupes  believe; 
Steam-hammers  mightier  than  the  sledge  of  Thar, 
Wielded  on  giant  works  of  peace  and  war, 
Down  to  the  almost  microscopic  screw 
That  holds  its  own  with  purpose  fixed  and  true. 
Mountains  nor  rivers  check  the  bold  career 
Of  the  well-furnished  civil  engineer ; 
His  thoughts  are  written  large  o'er  spacious  tracts, 
Ideals  realized  in  solid  facts. 
Never  had  prophet's  telescopic  eye 
The  power  to  bring  such  panorama  nigh. 
Yet  is  this  grand  climacteric  but  a  stage 
On  the  high  road  of  an  advancing  age. 

24 


Four  hundred  years  of  trial  show  the  trend 

Of  real  progress.     Manhood  is  the  end. 

"A  pseudo-aristocracy  may  gain 

A  fancied  height,  and  look  down  with  disdain 

Upon  the  people  as  a  lower  class. 

Its  day  is  short.     In  silence  let  it  pass. 

True  aristocracy,  a  nation's  best, 

Like  leaven  seeks  to  permeate  the  rest ; 

Not  rising  to  a  selfish,  separate  height, 

Its  aim  to  elevate  and  thus  unite. 

Still,  men  will  differ,  both  in  taste  and  tact, 

And  outward  circumstance  record  the  fact. 

Were  all  made  rich  alike  by  lawless  power, 

Think  you  the  lot  would  last  a  single  hour  ? 

But  though  great  wealth  be  garnered  by  the  few, 

A  signal  tendency  now  comes  to  view  : 

The  rich  incline  to  hold  their  goods  in  trust, 

As  stewards  whom  their  Lord  shall  reckon  just. 

Elders  survive  who  hailed  the  earliest  ray 

That  heralded  the  dawn  of  this  new  day. 

25 


Slowly  at  first,  now  follow  thick  and  fast 
Names  that  shall  lighten  the  whole  sky  at  last. 
Blame  not  the  finite  muse,  ye  starry  host, 
Whose  countless  names  could  not  be  here  engrossed; 
Whose  emulation   in  philanthropy 
Founds  schools  and  libraries  without  a  fee; 
With  hospitals  and  homes  for  old  and  young 
So  many  they  must  needs  be  left  unsung. 
Employers,  justly  weighing  what  is  due, 
Invite  their  hands  to  share  their  revenue. 
Co-operation  is  the  magic  key 
To  solve  the  labor  problem  peaceably. 
"Am   I  my  brother's  keeper?"  answered  "  yes," 
The  feeblest  brother  may  achieve  success. 
Has  human  nature  changed?     the  sceptic  cries: 
Nay,  but  experience  may  ope  its  eyes. 
Starving  the  workman  till  he  learns  to  beg, 
But  kills  the  goose  that  lays  the  golden  egg. 
The  idle  ploughman  suffers  not  alone; 
And  the  whole  hive  is  plundered  by  the  drone. 

26 


Contented  industry,  with  plenty  paid, 

Is  true  prosperity's  best  stock  in  trade ; 

And  mutual  confidence  resists  assault 

Better  than  three-fold  door  of  steel-clad  vault. 

Self-interest,  defined  as  lasting  good, 

Is  one  with   universal  brotherhood. 


U.C.BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


